Chapter 253: Lavent’s Revenge
Undisguised malice was transmitted to Neville through his eyes, much like the deadly magic that shot from the Basilisk’s pupils.
Neville’s mind went blank. Although his rational mind told him he was in the Hogwarts Staff Room and this was merely a demonstration in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Bellatrix before him was actually a Boggart, a voice whispered to him that this was a vicious Death Eater.
The enemy who had driven his parents mad thirteen years ago was slowly approaching Neville.
Harry, watching from behind, also had a jumbled mind. He remembered when they had ventured into the underground passages, they were just first-year students who had only learned a few basic spells two years prior. They had only been at Hogwarts for a year and didn’t understand the existence of adult wizards, Dark Wizards, or Dark Magic, foolishly stepping into the challenges set by the professors.
Everything was within the professors’ plans, yet they had still almost been killed by Quirrell and become another soul under Voldemort’s wand.
Lupin, gripping his wand and about to step forward to break the tension, was suddenly pulled back. He turned his head and saw Melvin shaking his head at him.
“Wait a moment longer…” Melvin said in a low voice.
Bellatrix’s footsteps drew closer, the scent of blood blowing onto Neville’s face, and the tip of her wand bloomed with red light. Undisguised malice, a Cruciatus Curse being brewed.
Neville seemed to see himself causing the scene of wails on the ground, just as his parents had suffered torture. Gritting his teeth, he clenched the wand in his hand and forced the spell out of his throat.
When did he overcome his cowardice and find his courage?
The person before him was clearly a cruel and vicious Dark Wizard, who had kept his parents in the ward for thirteen years, making them gradually weaker and older, causing his grandmother to weep at night and lament that if they hadn’t joined the Order of the Phoenix to oppose the Death Eaters back then, perhaps the Lumbardons family wouldn’t have ended up this way.
【 Riddikulus 】
The spell was released swiftly and precisely, much more practiced than his last casting.
There was no visible spell beam, only a crisp whip crack echoed in the Staff Room, like a young stag roaring its lungs out.
Bellatrix faltered, her entire body seemed to be struck by a powerful spell, and she bent over and flew backward, crashing into the wardrobe door, sliding down, and curling up on the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The disheveled Bellatrix staggered to her feet, her deep crimson robe transforming into a hospital gown. Her headscarf had also fallen off, revealing her messy black hair underneath, her hair a bird’s nest on her head. She walked with a lopsided gait, resembling Gilderoy Lockhart’s embarrassment after being defeated publicly.
“Good, everyone saw that!” The ferocity on her face vanished, replaced by an embarrassed smirk. “I was demonstrating this spell… Perhaps someone would like my autograph and a photo?”
Neville stared intently into her eyes, his tense muscles relaxing, a look of relief on his face. She was just a prisoner of Azkaban.
“You expected this outcome?” Lupin asked.
“I’ve just been teaching for two more years, so I understand these students better than you do.”
After Melvin finished speaking, he stepped forward and gestured for Neville to vacate the stage.
Lupin called the next student: “Parvati, step forward.”
This Indian-born girl’s greatest fear was a Mummy, freshly prepared, wrapped in bloodstained bandages, with empty eye sockets that still fixed on her target, dragging its slow, stiff body closer and closer.
After the spell was released, the bandages directly unraveled, tripping the Mummy and breaking its neck.
Following behind were Banshees, venomous rattlesnakes, freshly plucked eyeballs, severed limbs that still moved after death, and Acromantulas… all common sources of terror, none of which scared the students into losing their minds.
After waving their wands and casting spells, they transformed into various comical forms.
Half an hour later, only a few students remained at the back of the line. Harry was ahead of Hermione. As he watched his classmates go up one by one, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
The professor had just asked them to think of their greatest fear. The first thing that popped into his mind was Voldemort, the most powerful Voldemort in his prime. But before he could even imagine Voldemort’s comical form, Voldemort transformed into a Dementor.
The experience in the carriage that day was too profound. He could never forget that cloaked figure, like an Inferius rotten in ice water. Just thinking about it sent a chill through him, making him tremble uncontrollably.
“Will I faint in class later?” Harry wondered.
When it was his turn to step forward, Lupin suddenly called for the demonstration to stop. He placed himself between the Boggart and Harry, standing in the open space and smiling, saying:
“Students, today is my first Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Perhaps you can’t tell, but I was actually very nervous beforehand, worrying about any accidents. Fortunately, a considerate colleague voluntarily attended as an observer, allowing this class to proceed smoothly. We’re almost at the end of class, and I’d like to have this kind person demonstrate. What do you say?”
As he spoke, he made space: “Professor Levent, would you mind?”
Melvin glanced at the students behind him and couldn’t help but smile. It was understandable that the students who had already faced the Boggart were cheering, but the last few behind them were also joining in, especially Harry, who had waited in line for half an hour and hadn’t even demonstrated yet.
Seeing this, Lupin added fuel to the fire: “There are only five minutes left before the bell rings. Don’t hesitate any longer, Professor Levent.”
“I’m not a vindictive professor.”
Melvin muttered to himself, no longer refusing, and stepped towards the Old Wardrobe.
The Boggart was still in the form of an Acromantula. After being transformed by Ron’s spell, it became a legless spider, struggling on the ground, like a fish on a cutting board, helpless and comical.
The moment Melvin approached, the legless spider trembled and transformed into a balding rat, scurrying everywhere.
Professor Levent is afraid of rats?
Before the Little Wizards’ surprised expressions could fade, they saw the rat, as it ran, transform into a black dog, circling around Melvin.
“Wormtail, Padfoot…” Lupin’s eyes were filled with a complex emotion as he watched the Boggart transform from a black dog into a silver wolf over the next few minutes, and then, as it ran, from a silver wolf into a stag.
“Moony and Prongs.”
Lupin murmured, in a voice only he could hear, then let out a wry, helpless smile. He hadn’t expected this Professor Levent’s revenge to come so quickly and so fiercely.
The new professor, who had been retaliated against, shook his head. Facing the confused and surprised faces of the students, he didn’t forget his duty. Taking a deep breath and exhaling a sigh, he raised his voice to explain to the students:
“We all know the ability of a Boggart; it can transform into the deepest fears of a wizard’s heart. Although this fear is merely superficial, for truly skilled wizards, they would not easily reveal their weaknesses, never giving others an opportunity to pry into their hearts.”
“Professor Levent is such a wise wizard.”
Lupin waved his wand, shooting out a burst of fire that sent the scurrying stag back into the wardrobe, and then sealed it. “He used extremely advanced Occlumency to block the Boggart’s perception, and combined it with a False Memory Charm to deceive it. In simple terms, whatever Professor Levent wants the Boggart to become, it becomes.”
The Staff Room immediately erupted in cheers.
“Professor, we want to learn that too!”
“If your grades are outstanding, and if I’m still teaching at Hogwarts three years from now, when you reach your Sixth Year and enroll in the advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts class, I might consider including these two spells in the curriculum.”
Lupin glanced at Melvin, who was gloating, and couldn’t help but smile wryly. These two spells, when separated, weren’t particularly difficult, similar to the Patronus Charm, and not as complex as becoming an Animagus. However, combining them in such a precise manner was something he couldn’t currently achieve.
Making such a promise now meant he would have to spend a lot of time practicing in private.
“That’s all for today. It was a very exciting class. For homework, please read the entire chapter on Boggarts and write a summary. It’s due next Monday.”
The end-of-class bell rang on time.
The entire class dispersed into many small groups, leaving the Staff Room together, their excitement still lingering as they chattered about what had just happened.
“Did you see me deal with the Female Ghost?”
“And my Banshee!”
“My Mummy!”
“…”
As the only one of the Golden Trio to step forward and demonstrate, Ron finally felt a sense of superiority over Harry and Hermione. He patiently recounted the process.
“This is the most exciting Defence Against the Dark Arts class we’ve ever had, right?”
“Did you see my heroic act of subduing the Acromantula? I dare say, even if an Acromantula appeared before me right now, I could take it down, just like I did then.”
Ron’s smile was so wide it threatened to reach his ears. It wasn’t until they left the classroom and stepped into the courtyard, chilled by the cold wind, that his heated mind began to calm down.
Recalling Professor Levent’s demonstration, he scratched his head and mused, “Did any of you think that the balding rat Professor Levent conjured looked a lot like my Scabbers?”
“Don’t all rats look the same?”
Harry replied, his mood somewhat complex.
Professor Lupin seemed to deliberately prevent him from facing a Dementor, which made him a little disappointed. However, not having to face a Dementor and faint in front of the whole class made him feel fortunate.
“Hermione, Hermione? Why aren’t you saying anything? What are you thinking about?” Ron continued to exclaim. “You didn’t go up to demonstrate, did you? Why do you look so exhausted?”
“Don’t even mention it…” Hermione’s reply was weak, and she mumbled something about 「 seven essays 」 「 divination calculations 」 「 completing on time 」 that were incomprehensible.
Harry looked back. Professor Levent was walking out of the Staff Room with Professor Lupin, chatting amiably as they walked.
…
Lupin walked out of the Staff Room, taking a breath of fresh air. “Professor Levent, you already knew I’m actually… a Werewolf, didn’t you?”
“Oh, you’re a Werewolf? I thought that was your Animagus form, like the others.” Melvin walked along the corridor by the courtyard, feigning surprise with the masterful acting of a stage designer.
Lupin stopped and looked up, meeting his gaze and smiling. The young professor’s acting was clumsy, but his answer proved that Melvin harbored no prejudice due to his Werewolf status, perfectly dispelling any unease he felt.
On the way back to the Office, they passed through the courtyard. The autumn sun cast a faint warmth on them, not particularly hot, but still uplifting.
“When I was 11, I received my Hogwarts acceptance letter. Dumbledore himself came to speak with my parents as Headmaster. The Whomping Willow was planted specifically for me, a special student. Every full moon, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey would escort me to the secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow, where I would hide in the shed and transform. This didn’t last long before my companions discovered it.”
Lupin spoke of his past experiences with a nostalgic smile. “James, Wormtail, and Sirius, to accompany me through those difficult nights, spent two years researching Animagus transformation. They failed dozens of times during the process, to the point where they would vomit at the smell of Mandrake leaves. But they succeeded. From then on, on full moon nights, they would transform into animals and run with me in the Forbidden Forest and on the Grounds.”
Seeing Harry looking back as he walked away, Lupin’s eyes held a hint of wistfulness. “That child resembles James so much; his eyes are like his mother’s.”
“You deliberately didn’t let him face a Dementor just now, were you afraid he wouldn’t master the spell?” Melvin asked with a smile.
“I’ll tutor him privately in later classes to ensure he passes the exam. Compared to that, I’m more worried about him facing a Boggart and Voldemort appearing at the school. Bellatrix’s appearance was already terrifying enough.”
Melvin looked at the students laughing in the distance. “Trust these children; they are stronger and braver than you anticipate.”
“Has anyone ever told you that your tone of voice is a bit like Dumbledore’s?”
Lupin complained jokingly, shaking his head. “I’m willing to believe in them, but this is my first class. If anything goes wrong, I’ll have to pack my bags and leave.”
The two professors, not far apart in age, one a new professor and the other only in his second year of teaching, had much in common and conversed very harmoniously.
Back in the Defence Against the Dark Arts Office, which had originally been Gilderoy Lockhart’s room, it had been cleaned and redecorated, with his narcissistic posters and photos removed. The style was completely different. Melvin sat at the desk, looking at the nearly bare and unadorned office.
“Actually, starting the class with a Boggart was quite risky.” Lupin, feeling a bit sympathetic, brewed some hot black tea. He hadn’t received his salary yet, so this was from his savings to entertain guests.
“I’ve always been curious, do Boggarts, when they transform, possess the actual abilities of their prototypes?” Melvin asked without reservation.
He had just noticed that the Bellatrix conjured by the Boggart had genuinely produced dark magic fluctuations while brewing a Cruciatus Curse. Thinking back to the near future, when Lupin used a Boggart to simulate a Dementor to help Harry master the Patronus Charm, these interesting little things seemed to do more than just put on a show of scaring people.
“Wizards in academia generally believe that Boggarts focus more on the manifestation of fear, and they transform into monsters to evoke fear, rarely displaying related abilities.”
“Rarely displaying them, meaning it’s possible, right? Can Boggarts simulate the abilities of those monsters they transform into, and to what extent?” Melvin was very curious about this.
“It depends on the magical power it draws from fear, and it depends on the person providing the fear.”
“Sounds similar to Dementors; they both rely on wizards’ emotions to grow and can delve into deep memories.” Melvin’s eyes showed a thoughtful expression. “I know of a few patients who happen to require this peculiar ability.”
